House of Two
by DarkSmokePuncher
Summary: The 10th of October would be a memorable day for 8 year old Naruto. Follow his life as he and his best friend/biggest rival try to unravel the mystery behind the masked man responsible for the attack of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox over Konoha and ultimately his sister being turned into a Jinchuuriki.
1. Chapter 1: Promise of a Lifetime

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**_Author's note the second, posted at 02/08/14:_ Wow, after I posted chapter 3, I decided to come back and edit this a bit. I realized I did not actually say much about this story. I know the summary sucks and I apologize for that. In time I will edit it as the story progresses. I also changed the genre, since it is actually a mix of a lot of things - ****Suspense, Mystery, Romance, Drama, Family moments, some tears, lots of laughs (hopefully), and interesting plotlines (hopefully again).** **I will also be adding characters to the description as they appear**.** The future romantic interests are a bit tough. Naruto's is clearly planned, but I won't review it for a while. Itachi's is much tougher. Honestly, I have a hard time imagining him with anyone. I think as the story goes, someone will come up for him. I will say this though, some elements and events in the story will definitely catch you by surprise. Also, this is clearly AU. Some major events will still happen, but they will be changed according to the world I'm painting.  
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**********Fair warning, I'm not an expert on cannon and I haven't been keeping up with the latest chapters. I'm sort of waiting for them to pile up so I can have a satisfying read of 30-40 chapters at once. So if I make any mistakes, I apologize in advance. Of course, I've also changed some things from cannon and will change others in the future.**

**Now, as for my other story, Fairy Tail's Orange Flash. I owe some of my fans an explanation, so here it is. It's actually pretty simple, some real life stuff happened and I slowly lost the motivation and the spark to write. The world of Fairy Tail did not inspire me either and honestly, I haven't been reading the manga since before I stopped writing. However, I am still keeping my old notes back and I am remembering some of the plot lines and events I had planned. I will go back to it and there will be some changes, but first I will establish this one a bit.**

**Enjoy !~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. They belong to their rightful master and supreme overlord, Masashi Kishimoto.**

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**House of Two**

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Chapter 1: Promise of a lifetime

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It was a cloudless autumn night with a full moon casting its light over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Although by the standards of the Land of Fire there really was no marginal difference between an autumn and a summer night. In fact, Naruto mused, it might have been more accurate to say it was a cloudless October night. This and other trivial thoughts were going through the 8 year old boy's mind as he was looking up at the starless sky from his favourite place in the village – the Hokage Monument (a collection of faces of all the previous Hokage etched into the mountain itself). His mind latched onto this thought as well and briefly considered why in fact there were no stars if the night had been so clear. A piece of memory tried to provide a possible explanation, until Naruto realized that it involved the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, giving some long-winded explanation about some kind of special pollution that existed in big villages that sucked the light coming from the stars. A subject the boy had immediately lost interest in since it did not include anything about Ramen, a discussion about his latest prank, or some promise of the possibility of learning cool, powerful, secret, forbidden or dangerous techniques in any of the foreseeable future from the man known as "The Professor".

A lot of people would say the boy had not a care in the world if he had the time to let all those random thoughts flash through his mind. His most immediate worry would probably be the fact that he was out and about this late at night without proper permission or supervision. But then again, tonight was a special night. The 10th of October, a date that would change everything in Naruto`s life with the addition of a new family member in the form of a little sister. The blond, blue-eyed menace almost fell into a fit of cackles at the opportunities this would bring in his life. A protégé, he could personally train in the art of being a complete and utter pain in the buttocks for his family, village and one day without a doubt, the entire country. No, world even, Naruto screamed in his mind as this time he could not contain the mad laughter that came from his excited mouth.

Tonight would be a night that would truly change everything. And since Faith in her own twisted ways enjoyed beating a point home, the magnitude of that statement truly came into realization when the Nine-tailed Demon Fox suddenly materialized itself at the outskirts of the village, right in front of Naruto`s wide eyes and gaping mouth. Naruto prided himself in being unpredictable, but he had to begrudgingly give this round to Faith.

Especially since about a minute after the giant Fox had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, it looked straight at him, pointing all nine tails at its mouth, to charge an enormous orb of darkness. The only reason Naruto missed the opportunity to personally acquaint himself with Faith and discuss the current chain of proceedings in extremely loud and strong language, was because the giant black orb of inevitable demise disappeared before it reached the Monument. Naruto looked downwards and felt a sense of reassurance to see his father, the Fourth Hokage standing on top of his own etched head, guilty as charged for saving the Monument, most of Konoha and by proxy, the young boy as well.

A short-lived feeling, that lasted until a figure in black cloak appeared behind his father. Naruto felt he would definitely need a vocabulary upgrade if he ever wanted to describe how the stranger had even done that. A short scuffle occurred between the two men, his father disappearing in some sort of swirling motion, before the imposter disappeared in one as well.

A lot of emotions and thoughts exploded in Naruto`s mind, each one fighting the other for supremacy, stating claim over being the most important. Why was the Fox attacking the Village? Where did it come from? Was his father okay? Who was the stranger? Why did he attack his father? Was his mother okay? Did she give birth to his little sister? Was his little sister okay? Was the Third Hokage okay? He needed to go to the bathroom. A giant toad and a slug appeared and pinned the Fox. The slug dispersed into hundreds of smaller slugs. The figures on top of the toad vaguely resembled his godparents Jiraiya and Tsunade. One of the figures that looked like Tsunade grabbed one of the tails of the Fox and flipped it in the air and outside of the village.

At this point Naruto's brain decided to overheat and for now the blond menace settled on just watching, taking the whole battle in down to the last detail. Through the haze of panic and madness he reasoned he would try to make sense of it all later, if there even was a later. Definitely over a bowl of ramen.. Maybe two. He watched as various elemental techniques kept raining on top of the Fox, the ninja no doubt trying their best to push it as far away from the village as possible.

Another minute passed with nothing but flashes of explosions followed by their loud bangs to captivate Naruto's entire being until he felt his father materializing next to him. The boy looked upwards to see the look of relief on Minato Namikaze's face, that transformed into an unspoken query of what the hell Naruto was doing here of all places. Naruto opened his mouth to splutter some semblance of an apology or excuse before the sound of another particularly loud explosion reached both blonds.

Looking at the ensuing battle with horror, Naruto spoke "Go Dad, I'm fine." The boy felt extremely happy that his father had teleported to him to personally make sure he was all right. It was an act that showed Naruto he was placed above the village in his father's personal list of things he cared for. However, he also realized that it came at the cost of the lives of villagers and ninja, fighting the Fox for each extra second his father was by his side.

"Go kick that bastard's ass! Make sure to give him a good one for me as well!" yelled Naruto, his usual determination and cockiness coming back in his voice.

Minato smirked at his son before smacking him at the back of his head. "Your mom won't be happy when she hears you've been swearing again" said Minato, not sticking around to see the dread on Naruto's face.

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Jiraiya stood on top of Gamabunta's back when the giant toad landed on top of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox once again and pinning it on the ground. He was about to summon the Toad Sages when the fox began gathering another orb of malicious chakra. Before he had time to even panic, the fox disappeared completely and Jiraiya felt his former student, Minato teleport next to him. Relief going through his body he turned to the blond Hokage while not hiding his annoyance.

"Took your time in coming here" said Jiraiya.

"There were complications" responded Minato before continuing. "I'll explain later, I need your help."

Jiraiya nodded and Minato turned around and shouted "Third! Tsunade!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and Tsunade Senju landed next to Minato and Jiraiya on top of the giant Toad.

"We're going to the Fox. I'll explain everything when we get there. We need to re-seal It." said Minato, extending his hand. The three other shinobi simply nodded and grabbed his arm before Minato teleported all of them to where the Nine-tailed Demon Fox was.

Minato disappeared for a brief moment only to reappear with his wife and their newborn daughter a moment later. Seeing the state of Kushina, Jiraiya, Tsunade and the Third understood what had happened.

Not many knew of this particular piece of information, mainly because it was considered to be an S-class secret in fact known only to the people present – Kushina Uzumaki or also known as Kushina Namikaze, was the container of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox. She was a Jinchuuriki, a "human sacrifice" to contain the demon and keep it from rampaging in the open world and also a living weapon to be used by the village of Konoha. She also happened to be the mother of the 8 year old village menace known as Naruto Namikaze and also the mother of the now newborn little girl that she held in her hands. And that was the problem.

Another little known secret was that the seal binding the Nine-tailed Demon Fox to Kushina would naturally weaken when Kushina was giving birth. Yet the village did not undergo the same attack back then as it did tonight, since Minato and Jiraiya who were both notable seal masters had kept the seal in check eight years ago when Naruto was born. It went so well that Jiraiya had said Minato could handle it on his own and his time would be better spent doing something productive. And it was mostly true with the exception of the cloaked lunatic that was wearing a weird mask, who decided to crash the newborn girl's birthday today. His present had been kidnapping and as much as three exploding tags strapped to the baby before the cherry on top of the proverbial cake being the release of the Fox onto Konoha.

Minato would have gone into more details but the Nine-tails interrupted him with a roar and an attempt at being restless once again. Immediately after, several large chains came out of Kushina's back and began binding and twisting around the Fox.

"We need to restrain it further" said Minato and nodding, Jiraiya screamed.

**"Summoning Technique!" **

Three giant toads appeared in a cloud of smoke, one of which had been the same one that had been fighting the Nine-tails until now.

"Bun, Shiro, Ken" said Jiraiya "Restrain the Fox while we prepare a stronger barrier."

The three toads simply nodded before jumping onto the chained Fox. Afterwards all shinobi minus Kushina spread around the Nine-tailed Fox and erected a giant square-shaped barrier around it. With the Demon completely restrained for the time being everyone went back to Kushina who was trying to calm her crying daughter. Seeing the state she was in, Tsunade immediately kneeled down next to her and started checking her body.

Minato thanked whatever Gods were watching over them for Tsunade being her. Both she and Jiraiya were known as two thirds of the incredibly famous trio named the "Sannin". Students of the Third Hokage himself, both were also extremely well known for being masters second to none in a particular field. In Tsunade's case it was the field of Medical techniques which she currently employed into stabilizing Kushina's health. (Some would argue to a great degree of success that Jiraiya's field of expertise was being a pervert and a dirty old man.)

"Okay Minato, tell us in detail" said the Third and Minato did just that. He told them how the unknown enemy appeared out of nowhere. How his proficiency in the use of space-time techniques rivalled Minato's. He went in detail about their fight, the Sharingan the enemy possessed and the threats he had made. Finally, he also told them about Naruto, much to Kushina's annoyance.

"When I'm through with him.."

"Rebellious blonds aside" spoke Tsunade "How are we going to deal with him" she pointed a thumb at the trashing Demon Fox behind them.

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7 year old Itachi Uchiha had spent the better part of the morning exploring around the outskirts of the village, seeking the remnants of an old shrine. His love for archaeology and history had driven him here in search for more insight into the past and in particular the formation of the Village Hidden in the Leafs. It was an interest not shared by any of his peers which in Itachi's opinion was a shame. He found the stories of the clans, fighting and struggling for survival before the formation of the first Ninja villages interesting and educational. His favourite part had been the first steps at establishing Konoha and how Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha, both founders of the village, had tackled any problems that arose. Sadly, it seemed it was not possible to deal with all problems judging from what had happened later.

The boy felt excited as he recounted all the events. And that was why most of his peers around his age had found him weird. Who could get excited over some "lame history that happened before we were born". Most children had other more important things on their mind, like the search for powerful techniques, playing ninja or pulling off pranks.

Pranks in particular were the specialty of a certain orange menace as the villagers had come to talk of him. Itachi had met Naruto several times because of their mothers being friends. His first impression of him was that he was a loudmouth idiot who could not focus on more than one thing for a length of time larger than it took to say the word "ramen". Itachi had not given him much attention and it seemed the consideration had been mutual since if it had been at all possible, Naruto had done his best to sneak out and get himself in some sort of trouble. Usually by making trouble for everyone in the immediate vicinity.

Naruto Namikaze would have been the last person Itachi would ever think was interested in any kind of history. And that was the reason the young Uchiha boy let out a gasp of surprise when he had finally reached the ruins of the Uzumaki clan temple only to find Konoha's Orange Menace right in the middle of it. The sound had caught the attention of said menace who dropped the paper he was holding and grabbed two kunai in each hand.

"Who's there?!" Naruto shouted. Noticing Itachi the blond immediately charged at him, throwing a kunai mid-run. The art of throwing kunai was something that was both graceful and deadly. To achieve a satisfactory level of gracefulness or deadliness, one needed to devout a lot of hours and hard work practicing and training. And as it happened Naruto had come short of the amount since the kunai flew wide.

Itachi pulled a kunai of his own and got in a defensive stance ready to intercept the blond. An exchange of blows, stabs, slices and kicks occurred, with neither boy coming on top. The scuffle ended in a staring match until a thought that had been struggling for Naruto's attention finally succeeded in gaining it.

"Oh!" exclaimed Naruto in his usual loud and excited voice. "I know you, you're Daichi!"

"Itachi" corrected the Uchiha, not missing a beat or hiding a sliver of annoyance at the blond. They had met at least ten times! He had told Naruto his name twice!

"Right!" Naruto did not let his mistake slow him down, mostly since he did not pay attention to such things. "So what are you doing here?"

Itachi took the moment to look over the boy in front of him. Naruto was about his height and had the same blond spiky hair that was the most notable feature of his father. He also had the Fourth Hokage's blue eyes, however he had taken his mother's round face and her nose. His skin was tanned and he spotted three whisker marks on each cheek. He was wearing an orange t-shirt with the Uzumaki clan logo on his back, white cargo shorts, and blue sandals. He had a kunai holster on his right leg and a weapons pouch on his left hip. Naruto was also wearing a big green backpack.

"I was looking for the Uzumaki clan temple."

Naruto had taken the time to also observe the Uchiha while he was waiting for the response. Itachi had long black hair tied behind his back in a low ponytail that reached his shoulder-blades. He had black irises and the eyes gave the impression that there was no distinction between pupil and iris. Itachi was slightly shorter than Naruto and he was wearing a black shirt with the Uchiha clan logo on his back, black shorts and black sandals. Like the blond, Itachi had a kunai holster strapped to his right leg and a weapons pouch on his back. Naruto had noticed a theme with the Uchiha's choice of colour scheme, the only non-black thing Itachi was wearing being the bandages that were wrapped around his ankles and the white backpack on the boy's back.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed once again and motioned behind his back "There it is, that's the temple. Or what's left of it."

Itachi stared at the blond for a few seconds wondering if he should thank him for stating the obvious but just settled on saying thanks.

"No problem" Naruto gave him a grin and a thumbs-up before turning his back and walking towards the temple. Itachi followed shortly after him and enjoyed the brief moment of silence before the blond broke it.

"So why were you looking for the temple?"

"I was interested in the history behind it" said Itachi noting the raised eyebrow on Naruto's face, but still continuing on "I read that the Uzumaki clan was distantly related to the Senju clan."

"Oh, the First and Second Hokage?" Naruto asked.

"Well, not to them in particular. I think Hashirama was married to an Uzumaki though." said Itachi.

"Really?" Naruto said curiousity in his voice. Before he could ask any more questions it was Itachi's turn to raise some of his own.

"What about you?" asked the Uchiha.

"I'm looking for masks" said Naruto.

"Masks?" asked Itachi, confusion in his voice.

Naruto simply nodded and as a response extended his hands at the wall in front of them after they entered the temple. There Itachi saw three rows of different masks, most of which were really creepy, hanging on the wall.

"This is an Uzumaki Clan mask temple" explained Naruto.

Itachi's eyes moved from mask to mask, studying them carefully.

"Are you looking for a mask in particular?" asked Itachi.

Naruto nodded and picked up the sheet of paper he had dropped earlier before showing it to Itachi. It had a drawing of a round mask that had one hole where the right eye of the person wearing it was supposed to be. A second hole for the other eye was missing, but what was even more peculiar was the mask had many red flame-like drawings over it, seeming to focus on the hole. Itachi studied the drawing for a bit longer before looking at the wall of masks.

"There doesn't seem to be anything remotely similar here" said Itachi.

"Yeah, but it was a good place to search for it. Especially since I'm part Uzumaki" nodded Naruto with a small grin on his face.

"What's so special about that particular mask?" Itachi pointed at the drawing.

"It belonged to the man that was probably responsible for the attack of the Nine-tailed Fox." Naruto said after a moment of looking over Itachi.

That surprised the Uchiha. He recalled the attack one month ago and shivered. The Nine-tails had at some point passed by the Uchiha clan compound and Itachi had been forced to run away with his little baby brother Sasuke to escape the Demon.

"Someone was behind that attack?" whispered Itachi, still in shock. "Who would do that and why? And how do you know?"

"Because I saw my father fighting that man at the Hokage monument" Naruto said and started telling the story of that night. After he had finished he asked Itachi if he had seen something, prompting the Uchiha to tell his recollection. By the time he was finished both boys had sat down at some rubble and Naruto was sharing some chocolate with the raven-haired boy.

"Wow, you had to run with your baby brother by yourself. That's harsh" said Naruto. "If I had been with my sister I know I'd have been scared."

"How is your family?" Itachi asked. He had heard many rumours and sometimes listened to conversations between his parents, but it was better to hear the story from an actual member of the Namikaze household.

Naruto's mood darkened and the blond looked at the ground. Itachi was about to break the silence that ensued and apologize when Naruto spoke.

"As good as it can be expected" he said. "My mom.. She isn't doing well. You've heard about her, what she was..?" the blond looked at Itachi who nodded.

"Well, if you're a container and your beast gets extracted you die. Because my mom is an Uzumaki she managed to survive for a bit longer because of the incredible life force the people from the clan possess. Still, her body and chakra network were really damaged. She's out of the danger zone thanks to Aunty Tsunade, but recovery will be slow."

Silence fell over them again before Naruto's mood surprisingly picked up.

"But my sister is really cute!" Naruto said excited. "She has red hair like my mom and her eyes as well! If she has her temper, she'll be like a little devil when she grows up" the blond snickered relishing in the fantasy of him and his sister unleashed upon the village. His good mood however was only a brief occurrence as the boy continued.

"And they sealed the Nine-tails in her" Naruto shook his head. "I still can't believe it, a small body like that containing one of the most powerful beasts in existence. She was so small, so light when I held her.. Not one of my father's greatest moments."

"You think the Fourth should have left the Fox free and rampaging?" Itachi asked surprised.

Naruto scowled a bit as he looked at the ground once again.

"I heard them arguing about it" Naruto said. "When my father brought me to the hospital and I saw my mom and my sister. Uncle Jiraiya and Aunty Tsunade were also there and my father started explaining to me what had happened."

"Then they started arguing, my mom wasn't happy at all. Apparently she had been against it and wanted the Fox to be sealed in her again so she could die with it. But my father.. He was spooked about what the masked man had done and said. That bastard had promised he would attack Konoha again or something. Then the four of them sealed the whole Fox into my sister, so one day she would wield its power and save the world."

That was the part of the story Itachi and most of the village knew. After the Fox had been restrained, the 3rd and Fourth Hokage, as well as the two sannin had all used a summoning ritual to seal the tailed beast into Naruto's sister. Normally sealing the whole Fox would have been really hard and might have required some special type of ritual. But because there were practically four Kage-level shinobi at the scene, they were able to restrain the Fox with little problems long enough for them to perform the whole ritual. The last bit about saving the world was new to Itachi though.

"Save the world? What do you mean?" Itachi asked.

"Uncle Jiraiya and my father were talking about some Prophecy about some child of Destiny that would one day save the world or destroy it.."

If Naruto had more to say on the matter it would remain unknown, since a voice behind the two boys spoke up.

"Naruto, you know that's a secret. Your father told you not to tell anyone."

Both boys turned around to see a masked member of the ANBU Black Ops (Special Assassination and Tactical Division) standing at the entrance of the temple. It was a man, wearing the standard uniform of a simple blue suit, standard flak jacket, strapped up sandals, and arm guards. He also wore plated gloves that went all the way up to his arms with a bandage wrapped around the right one. Along with this he had a sword strapped to his back and his mask was fashioned to look like a dog's face with red and black markings around the eyes, sides and mouth. The ANBU tattoo could be seen on the man's left shoulder, but perhaps the most notable feature was the spiky silver gravity-defying hair.

Naruto smirked mischievously before turning back. "It's all right Kakashi, he's the son of my mom's best friend. He'll hear about it eventually in some form or another."

Time froze as Itachi and probably the ANBU now identified as Kakashi gaped. It remained unseen in Kakashi's case thanks to the two masks the man was wearing; however, Itachi did not have such luxury. Not to mention the boy knew who Hatake Kakashi was exactly because of his connection with his clan. Itachi's father and head of the clan, Fugaku had had many outbursts and fits whenever the silver-haired ANBU member was mentioned. One of the former students of the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi possessed a Sharingan, the Uchiha clan's blood-line technique in his left eye, even though he was not an Uchiha. The real reason for the shock that had ensued though was the fact Naruto just revealed the identity of member of the ANBU.

"Naruto.." Kakashi's voice trembled "My identity is also supposed to be a secret.."

"Yes, because your hair isn't a dead giveaway" Naruto said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Itachi caught the blond smirking again before he continued "Fine, I'll call you by your codename, Cat."

"It's Dog!" Kakashi screamed exasperated.

Suddenly, Itachi got the suspicion that Naruto was not as stupid as he seemed. He was definitely an idiot and a loudmouth, but the Uchiha thought he acted like that just to get a rise out of people. He realized the same thing had been done to him and for the first time since Itachi could remember he felt amused and compelled to almost laugh. Almost.

"Here, an apology" Naruto said as he threw a piece of chocolate at the man who caught it and approached the two boys.

"It should go without saying that whatever you've heard here is a highly classified secret" said Kakashi while looking pointedly at the Uchiha.

"I understand" Itachi said simply.

"Sheesh, so serious" said Naruto. "So what did you do to earn the "honour" of watching over me today, Dog? Or did you just draw the short straw?" the blond asked with a knowing mischievous look in his eyes. Itachi felt the quotation marks meant it was anything but an honour. It sounded more like some sort of punishment.

"I was late for a meeting.. again" said Dog with a lazy voice.

"Aww.. From the fact that you keep being late for meetings I get the feeling you actually like watching over me" Naruto said while having a mock smile and clutching his chest.

"It's been a quiet month, Naruto. You haven't pulled a single prank since the 10th" Dog said and Itachi realized he had not seen any cattle roaming the streets or overturned food carts lately. The Academy had not been repainted in weeks.

"Busy with other projects?" the ANBU member asked while bringing the chocolate behind his mask where it disappeared with a crunching sound.

"Maybe.." said Naruto while looking over at the painting of the mask he had made. "You seen this before, Dog?"

"Only in a few meetings we've had after the attack. The Fourth showed us a similar picture and told us to be on the look-out" said Kakashi.

"Did he say anything else?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, I can't say, Naruto. Even if you're his son, that information is.."

"I know, I know. Classified" the blond let out a frustrated sigh.

"Why not just ask the Fourth about the details of his fight?" Dog suggested.

"I did" Naruto said bitterly. "I don't need to know that information apparently."

"Why are you looking for him, Naruto?" asked Itachi. "If he's the one responsible for the Nine-tails' attack, then he's a very powerful and dangerous man."

Naruto kept quiet for a while before finally answering.

"This man.. He almost killed my mom and destroyed the village. Because of him, my cute little sister had been turned into a Jinchuuriki, a human sacrifice" spat Naruto before continuing quietly "I promised her that I would find him and punch him in the face until his stupid mask broke and I felt satisfied. And then I would punch him a couple of times on her behalf. And it's a promise I intend to keep no matter what."

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**Author's Musings: Apologies for any mistakes. I did read and double-check this chapter six or seven times before I posted it. Please leave a comment and let me know if I've missed something. I hope you've all enjoyed Chapter 1 and are eager for the rest!**

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	2. Chapter 2: An Understanding

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Chapter 2: An Understanding

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Kushina was sensing the impending headache. The reason for it was the three month old baby girl in her arms, whose quivering lower lip held promise of loud and outspoken opinion that was about to be known to anyone in the immediate vicinity. This unfortunately for Kushina consisted solely of herself.

"It's okay cutie, mommy is okay" she rocked her daughter in an effort to soothe her imminent ire. In the end, it all proved futile and Kushina let out a sigh. Not one to give up though, she hugged the miniature carbon copy of herself and kissed its forehead, while trying to keep the cries from inflicting long-lasting brain damage.

Kushina felt a tight feeling around her chest that threatened to squeeze the air out of her. She was annoyed, frustrated and completely helpless, feelings that persisted with growing weight upon her shoulders ever since that dreaded night. There were many reasons for that, ranging from her confinement into this hospital room and bed to the little girl that refused to calm down.

The storm of emotions that had been raging in the woman's heart was not showing any signs of ceasing and Kushina knew the exact reason behind it. She had never taken the time to actually face her emotions, to come to terms with everything that had happened. The happiness of holding her newborn daughter was overshadowed by regret and guilt, for every time Kushina heard her cry the image of the Fox being sucked and sealed into the little baby girl would flash before her eyes. Minato and Jiraiya had convinced her somehow that it had been the right thing to do and she had agreed, she had watched while every fibre of her motherly instinct screamed at her that they were wrong.

From then, her relationship with her husband had become strained. She still loved Minato dearly, but at the same time she could not bring herself to lean on him, to let him be her pillar of support that would without a doubt help push her forward. It was the man's uncharacteristic stubbornness to stick behind his decision of turning their only daughter into a Jinchuuriki that still held her back, and to a degree, made her blood boil. Not being able to spend Christmas and New Year's together with him and Naruto only served to drive the wedge between them even further, to Kushina's horror. She understood her current condition did not permit her to leave the hospital, but Minato was the Fourth Hokage for God's sake! He could bend the rules to have them at least spend the night on those holidays together, as a family – something she needed dearly. A voice in Kushina's mind had told her she was being a spoiled brat, yet the way Minato had seemingly resigned himself to follow the rules fed the growing fear that maybe he was not as happy as he should be with his daughter.

She hated herself for thinking that. A very large part of her knew those thoughts were baseless and completely untrue. But it was exactly the storm of malicious emotions that had nurtured that small seed of doubt in her heart. It was because of that doubt she had another fight with him when he had come to visit her earlier today. The rational voice in her that seemed to be shrinking with each passing day, had tried to tell her that he had a point. Their daughter should not be kept in the hospital; she should be brought home and taken out for fresh air and sunlight. Her fear however had stomped all rationale and had told Minato there would be no situation in which she would still be breathing and at the same time be more than three meters away from her little baby girl.

All her dark thoughts and recollections however were pushed back by the sudden slamming of her hospital door.

"Hey Mom! How are you?!" came the scream of her son, Naruto, much to his mother's surprise (and annoyance to all of the nurses currently employed in Konoha General Hospital).

"Naruto" gasped Kushina. "What are you doing here, visiting hours should be over."

"Well" the blond closed the door, investing much more care in this motion than the one that was used to open it "I've managed to reach an understanding with the hospital staff" he said with a small smile.

"Understanding?" asked Kushina.

"Mhm" nodded Naruto. "Your son can be pretty persuasive, y'know" he said as he approached the bed.

Kushina snorted "Oh yeah, I know. What did you do to them?"

"Mother!" Naruto exclaimed with a hurt voice. "How can you suspect your sweet little boy of threatening the head nurse of releasing a pack of wild racoons in her house, if she were in some moment of insanity to deny him to see his own dear family?"

"Oh, so is that what I'm suspecting my **sweet little boy** of doing?" Kushina made sure to emphasize the words.

"Yes, but!" Naruto's voice changed into one dripping with sincerity "I would never even dare to anger you by doing something so cruel and irresponsible. After all" the blond's eyes and grin became wild "the head nurse **did** allow me to come in, y'know."

Kushina shook her head. The only reason her son had not been smacked into the wall yet was because of the other member of the Namikaze household who had been a serious contender for the position of "loudest family member". Kushina had given up that position to Naruto a long time ago, however her carbon copy held the strong opinion that the time had come for the title to switch owners. Yet here was the bizarre part.

From the moment Naruto had entered the room, the little baby girl had stopped her cries and instead focused her entire being onto her older brother. Kushina, for the life of her, had no idea how her son was doing it, but whenever he was nearby, Kaede would seize whatever she had been doing, no matter if it was crying, eating or even sleeping. All those actions would be replaced by her simply staring at his face and twisting her head to follow his every movement. There would be no emotion, no facial expression; in fact the only recognition behind the little redhead's eyes was one of wonder and curiosity.

Kushina was not sure what was more annoying: the fact that Naruto could calm his sister down like that better than her, or the fact that he did not even realize he had such an effect on Kaede. Despite what she knew and tried to tell him, to Naruto his little sister had his mother's looks, but his father's quite demeanor.

"Hi little one" Naruto bent his knees and brought his face closer to the little redhead.

Kaede responded with a silent stare.

"Are you happy to see your big brother?" asked Naruto.

Kaede repeated herself.

Naruto straightened up and sighed "I can't believe someone can look so much like you, mom, and be so quiet" he said shaking his head.

"Hey!" Kushina said annoyed. The only reason she did not smack her son this time was because her hands were full. Something she decided to fix for next time.

"Here" she said handing him his sister. "Why don't you hold her a bit, I think she'll be happy, y'know."

Naruto dropped his backpack off and eagerly took his sister in his arms while sitting on a chair. The only thing that changed for said little girl was the angle of her neck, only so she could better focus her violet eyes on her blond brother's face.

"Coming from the Academy?" asked Kushina.

"Mhm" nodded Naruto. "Oh, I have something awesome to show you."

"Oh?" Kushina's curiosity was peaked.

"We had a history quiz today! And yours truly did really well!" exclaimed her son while rummaging with one arm in his backpack.

Now that was a pleasant and unexpected surprise for Kushina. It was well known that her son disliked history since it bored him and his time could be better spent on things that were more interesting. Like pranking the instructors during the history lessons.

Naruto took out a slightly crumbled sheet of paper and proudly displayed it to his mom, showing the D+ mark in all its glory.

There was no reason that stopped Kushina from smacking her son over the head this time.

"Ow!" Naruto screamed. "So cruel, hitting your son while his hands are full."

"How do you consider this doing well?!" asked Kushina. Naruto knew once upon a time his mother's nickname had been the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero". He was getting a taste of the reasons behind it.

"But mom, normally I get an F. This time I got a D+, y'know!" said Naruto.

"This time, you wrote your name, y'know!" Kushina shoved the paper in her son's face.

"I also answered some questions!" Naruto defended himself.

Kushina looked over the paper again and she had to give him that. In fact, she noticed, all the questions he had given an answer to were correct. The only problem was that they were three out of the twelve. To most parents this would mean nothing really and they would have probably continued berating their child. The redhead on the other hand knew exactly how much her son enjoyed history, so she felt her anger subsiding a bit.

"Hmmm.. I suppose this is an improvement" Kushina said, prompting Naruto to grin widely. "Makes me wonder what the reason behind it is. I hope this isn't a part of some elaborate prank." Kushina's eyes narrowed in suspicion as she gave her son a Look.

"Not at all!" Naruto shook his head so fast he almost became dizzy. "It's just, in order to graduate from the Academy early, I need to show satisfactory results in all subjects, including history" Naruto let out a sigh of dismay at the last bit.

"Oh? And why would you want to graduate early? You're barely in your second year, y'know" Kushina said surprised. This was the first she heard of her son's plans. Last time she and his father had a conversation about his studies he had shown graduating or proper education in general for that matter were as far away as they could be from his mind at the time. She had a sneaking suspicion behind the reason which ended up being confirmed a moment later.

"Well, that little bastard.. ow!" Naruto rubbed his head where his mom had smacked him again. "I mean that wonderful human being Itachi is planning on graduating early. He already skipped a year and is in our class, I can't let him get cocky!"

"Besides, he won't be able to really appreciate the honour of having me as a teammate if we don't graduate in the same year" Naruto smirked, showing his usual self-confidence.

Kushina sighed and shook her head. Sometimes she wished Naruto had gotten more from his father than just his looks. Her son acted exactly the way she did when she was his age, reaching a new level of mischievousness with his own touch of pranking and annoying people. The only saving grace was he had not started spouting dreams of being Hokage yet.

At the same time however, Kushina couldn't help but smile. Itachi had been a frequent topic of their conversations since Naruto had apparently befriended the Uchiha boy two months ago. It was another unexpected, if pleasant surprise from her son, considering her and Itachi's mother, Mikoto, had organized many play dates when the two boys were younger and neither of them had shown any interest for any kind of interaction between the two.

Whatever the reasons behind the budding friendship/rivalry, Kushina was glad for them. She knew Itachi did not have many friends and at the same time Naruto needed something or in this case someone to focus his motivation and drive into the right direction. She as well was willing to give him an extra push.

"I don't think you'll be graduating anytime soon with this kind of mark" the mother waved the paper in front of Naruto's nose. "It's going to take a lot more than just answering three questions, y'know. If you keep putting in minimum effort, by the time you graduate Itachi will be your jounin teacher." Kushina couldn't help but laugh at the look of horror on her son's face.

"Whose side are you on anyway?!" shouted Naruto.

"I'm just giving you the facts as I know them. Last time I spoke with Mikoto, she told me her son was already able to do fire element techniques. He might be a real genius that boy, y'know" Kushina said looking at Naruto's expression with the corner of her eyes. She tried to suppress her laugh this time; her boy was so easily riled up, just like her.

It took a few seconds for Naruto to get his bearings back after the revelation. He would not let something like this keep him back though and his confident smirk returned.

"Pff, elemental training" he snorted. "I'll have it down in a month!"

"It's good that you're confident" smiled Kushina. Naruto however knew that smile and what exactly was held behind it. "I hope you have the same confidence when it comes to your proficiency with the other Academy techniques. And I'm sure you've improved your weapon throwing skills as well, those are pretty important for graduation" said the redhead.

Naruto gulped and laughed nervously, before he tried to change the topic.

"So how are you doing mom? Are you feeling better? When will you be able to come home?" he asked.

Kushina's smile fell a bit, which did not go unnoticed by Naruto. However, the redhead did her best to answer with as much cheerfulness as she could muster.

"I'm better; the nurses are driving me crazy though. They're only allowing me to go out and move about for half an hour before they take me back here, y'know! I swear, I'll have words with Tsunade! And the food is so horrible, it wasn't so bad at the beginning, but it's always the same, y'know!"

"Heh" Naruto smirked. "You really take after me, mom."

Kushina knew what he meant. Whenever her son was feeling down he would do his best to hide it behind a grin and an overly excited voice. She gave him a small smile, before patting him on the head.

"It's the other way around, son" Kushina said.

"When do they usually let you out?" asked Naruto.

"Around noon, why?" Kushina lifted an eyebrow.

"Perfect, how does ramen for lunch sound tomorrow?" he gave her a mischievous look.

"It's a school day tomorrow" the redhead pointed out.

"Don't worry about it, mom! I'm sure they'll let me come see you if I ask them Really nicely. Here" Naruto handed off his sister back to his mother's arms. The little redhead had not averted her eyes from her brother during the entire conversation, as per usual.

"Naruto.." Kushina's voice made sure to let Naruto know that she had caught the capitol R. There was a slight edge to it that said she would not tolerate any foul play, even if he was bringing her ramen.

"You just make sure to rest up plenty and I'll see you tomorrow. Leave the details to me" said Naruto before he kissed his mother on the cheek. He then picked up his backpack, kissed his little sister on the forehead and left the room while waving.

Kushina shook her head but at the same time could not keep her growing smile. She looked down to Kaede, who had kept looking at the door after her brother had left, just in case he appeared there again.

"Your big brother really knows how to cheer someone up while annoying them at the same time" Kushina said, before giving her baby girl a kiss as well.

**!~¡**

"So you have any plans for today?" asked Naruto.

Itachi looked at the blond next to him before responding "After the Academy? I'll be training personally with my father, but that will be later tonight. I have a few hours until then. Why, are we going to sneak in food for your mother again?"

Naruto laughed nervously while scratching the back of his head. "Actually" said the blond "there won't be a need for that anymore."

Itachi looked at him with a quizzical look.

"Aunty Tsunade may have caught me yesterday" said the blond.

"I see" said Itachi with understanding. That explained why Naruto had come with a bandaged head to school today. "So your mother will keep eating hospital food then?" asked Itachi.

"Weeeeell, not exactly. I've managed to reach an understanding with Aunty" said Naruto.

Itachi looked at his friend with wide eyes. Whenever Naruto said he had reached some sort of understanding with someone, it usually meant he had threatened, blackmailed or bribed them. He knew his friend was reckless, but doing that to one of the Sannin was borderline suicidal.

"She explained to me that the reason behind the hospital food was so that the doctors could monitor what exactly my mom is eating" said Naruto. "But then I just asked her how she would feel if she had to eat the same food for more than three months and keep eating it for another two. So now I'm allowed to bring mom different food for three days of the week as long as I show it to the nurses beforehand and.. it's not always ramen" he muttered the last part.

"Huh" Itachi said.

"What?" Naruto lifted an eyebrow at his friend.

"Nothing, for a moment I thought you actually did threaten Lady Tsunade" said Itachi.

Naruto's face paled slightly "Are you kidding, Aunty sent the Pervert flying through six walls last month just for making a comment at her chest."

A small smile formed on Itachi's lips, which was the equivalent of snickering for most normal people. He always found Naruto's way of addressing Tsunade and Jiraiya, two of the most renowned and respected ninja in Konoha amusing. The stories of their interactions even more.

"Well, it's good that you've reached an agreement without you ending up in the hospital as well" said Itachi. "Honestly, I'm surprised it took two weeks for you to get caught in the first place."

"Ha! Never underestimate the stealth of the most unpredictable ninja in the world!" boasted Naruto. "The only reason I even got caught was because.."

"Itachi Uchiha. You're up next."

Both boys looked up at one of the instructors. They were outside of the Academy at the moment since they had weapon practice.

Itachi let out the slightest of sighs, only heard by Naruto, before standing and going up to the instructor. He was followed by a sudden cheer from all the girls in their class, who were standing in one spot. Naruto couldn't keep his smile from showing. Better yet, it kept growing each time Itachi had hit the mark with a kunai or a shuriken, which was then followed by another cheer from the girls. When the Uchiha boy was finally finished and came back to take a seat next to his friend, he was greeted by a grin that had grown to painful proportions.

"Great job, Itachi_-kun_!" said Naruto.

Itachi just gave him a dejected look and buried his face in embarrassment in his knees. He had no idea how it had started. He had enjoyed a relatively peaceful and quiet Academy life. Most of the kids had found him weird because of his interests and unapproachable because of his clan. In fact, his only friend was Naruto, something Itachi did not mind at all.

Then suddenly, a month ago he noticed some of the girls in his class were constantly looking at him. The little group of creepy stalkers kept growing and at some point they had started to cheer for him, whenever there were exercises or practical tests. Itachi had felt embarrassed and when he had asked Naruto about it, the blond had promptly informed him that now he had a fan club, much to the Uchiha boy's horror.

Unbeknownst to Itachi, said blond was the reason behind it. They had been learning the principles of the Transformation technique and its uses in espionage. Of course, Naruto's keen senses immediately worked out its uses for mischief. So he had focused and spent all his time into actually learning the technique to quite a big degree of success. That's when he had decided to test its effectiveness.

He spent a week transforming into his classmates, particularly the ones of the female species. He had then spent time talking about Itachi and how amazing he was, how he was a real genius and always getting the best marks. That had been the only hard part of his plan – he had to suppress the gagging reflex every time he uttered those words. But in the end, it had all paid out.

The small embers he had lit had started picking up and the girls began talking amongst themselves about his friend, with increasing interest too. He mentally patted himself when not only did he succeed in creating a cruel and unusual source of embarrassment for his friend, but he had also managed to transfer the focus of his own fan girls, which was a much appreciated bonus. Of course, this would be a secret he would take to the grave.

"Naruto Namikaze, your turn" said the instructor.

The blond stood up and took his position in front of the targets. He picked up the shuriken and did his best to concentrate. He was just in the backyard; his only company the five targets in front of him. Slowly he lifted his hands and threw the weapons just like he had practiced every day. There was a satisfying _thunk_ whenever a shuriken hit a target and the blond kept throwing until he had none left. He picked the kunai afterwards and repeated the same exercise, letting out a satisfied smile at the end.

While he could not boast the same level of accuracy as Itachi, whose weapons had been mostly imbedded into the bullseyes, all of his shuriken and kunai had hit the targets and were relatively close to their intended destination. Jumping in the air with a shout, he gave a thumbs-up to the surprised instructor and sat down next to Itachi.

"I see you've been practicing" said his friend.

"Yeah, just a bit every day after I got home" said Naruto, which was a massive understatement. After his conversion with his mom two weeks ago, Naruto had gone home immediately and had started practicing his throws. After an hour and a half with very few actual hits, he had realized that the exercise was pointless if he did not change whatever he was doing wrong. For the first time in a long while, Naruto had actually opened one of the Academy scrolls, in particular the one that explained and had shown the art of throwing weapons.

Naruto had been amazed at exactly how much thought, technique and practice must go into the art. He had realized that some of the things he did intuitively, but at the same time there were many variables (he had to check the dictionary to see what that word meant) that he had not been even considering. So he started going through the motions with renewed determination, doing his best to focus and follow the instructions.

He had practiced until late, the only reason he had stopped being his inability to move his hands and wrists. The following morning had been filled with pain and soreness, yet the blond kept practicing after he had returned home that day. And he kept at it for the next few days, despite the slow progress and many frustrations Naruto felt. Mostly at himself, for not taking the training seriously until that point. He had wondered how much practice had Itachi put into it to become so good. Still, those thoughts only motivated him further.

It was the fourth night when Naruto had started making significant progress. He had flicked a kunai for probably the five-hundredth time (his brain was swearing they were in the millions) only to miss the target and imbed it into the fence behind it. He let out a sigh when he heard a voice behind him.

"You're still too tense."

He turned around to see his father standing on the porch with his hands locked at his chest. Naruto briefly wondered how long had he been standing there for before he heard him talk again.

"You're using the right form and motion, but you're also adding too much force when you throw" said Minato as he approached his son.

"But without enough force the kunai won't penetrate the target" said Naruto.

"True, however, using too much will interfere with the motion and accuracy without you realizing it" here Minato picked one of his own kunai and hit one of the targets in the centre with just a flick of his wrist.

"Not to mention, if you use too much force your muscles will strain and become sore after only twenty or thirty throws. I've been in many situations where I've had to throw much more than that. Here" he gave another kunai to his son. Naruto took a stance but right before he was about to throw it his father grabbed his wrist gently.

"The first thing you need to work on is your feeling" said Minato.

"My feeling?" asked Naruto confused.

"Mhm" said Minato. "When I threw the kunai what did you see?"

"You flicked your wrist and threw it?"

"Partially yes, but it wasn't just my wrist. It was the motion of my whole arm." Here Minato picked another kunai and continued explaining while repeating the motion "But that's not what I meant. The feeling of the kunai in your arm is important. Is it just a tool you're holding unnaturally that you can't wait to get rid of, or is it an extension of your body?"

Naruto was still a bit confused and his expression must have shown it since Minato chuckled.

"No matter what kind of tool you're using, it adds something to your arsenal. In the case of the kunai, it gives you a farther reach with your hands and a deadlier slicing or piercing attack. When you add the potential of throwing, your reach increases much more."

"When you hold your tool, think of it as a part of your body – an extra limb that gives you some kind of an advantage. And since it's a piece of your body, you have absolute control over it. It might take you a while to view it like that, so for now just practice holding it."

"Just holding?" Naruto lifted an eyebrow.

"Once you get used to the form, weight and size in your hand, you'll realize handling it will become much easier. You won't be limited to just throwing with your wrist or just throwing a single kunai." As if to emphasize his point, Minato put a finger through the ring of the kunai he was holding and started twirling it. Then with a motion so fast that Naruto was barely able to follow, he simply flicked his finger and launched the weapon right next to where his previous one had hit.

"I remember back in my Academy days I had an instructor who told us we should hold a kunai for one week straight to get familiar with it. We were to eat with it, shower with it and even sleep with it." Here Minato left out a laugh at the memory, before continuing "Of course, I don't recommend the last bit. One of my classmates actually impaled himself while he was sleeping and almost bled out."

Naruto laughed as well before looking up to his father. When their eyes actually met, he couldn't help but look down at the ground.

"Th-thanks, dad.. For the help" he said. This was not his usual behavior, but then again the two of them had not talked this much ever since his sister had been born.

"No problem, son," Minato smiled while he rubbed Naruto's head. "I'm sure you'll get it if you keep practicing. You're my son after all."

Naruto just nodded while he kept looking at the ground. A smile had grown on his face though.

"Now let's get back inside" said Minato. "It's already 11 o'clock and you still haven't eaten. Your mom will get angry if she learns you've been staying up this late. Let's eat and go to bed, I've gotten take-out."

The two blonds had gone back in the house and for the following week Naruto had followed his father's advice and held a kunai whenever he could. The only time he did not have one was when he was visiting his mother and sister or when he was sleeping. After that he followed Minato's other advice about the force when he was throwing and to his surprise he had managed to hit all targets. He did the same training with the shuriken and now all he had to really work on was his accuracy.

"So why did you ask if I was free, Naruto?" Itachi's sudden question snapped Naruto from his memories and brought the blond back to the here and now. The class had finished and now all the students were going back into the building for the next lesson.

"Oh, I was wondering if you wanted to train together after classes" said Naruto.

"Train together?" Itachi said a bit surprised. It would be the first time they did something like that.

"Yeah, if we're going to be on a team, we should start working on teamwork!" said Naruto.

Itachi shook his head. For some reason, after Itachi had transferred into his class and had told Naruto he was planning on graduating early, his friend had decided that they would graduate together and would be on the same team. The Uchiha boy had no idea why Naruto was so adamant about it, but then again he mused it would not be such a bad idea. Naruto was a very unpredictable person that tended to surprise you just when you thought you had him figured out. There was always something underneath and at times Itachi could even see the hidden cogs moving behind his bright mischievous eyes, thinking some private schemes.

"All right" said the Uchiha. "We've never actually done something like that. We haven't even sparred, so it'll be a good idea." The prospect of sparring excited both boys for their own reasons.

"Cool, we can grab something to eat and then we can go to my house if you want. Father should be working late so no one will bother us" said Naruto, not hiding his excited grin.

Itachi did not speak again until they sat on their seats "Ichiraku..?"

"Ichiraku" said the blond with a wild grin.

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**Author's Musings: This concludes the second chapter! I hope you peeps have enjoyed it and if you have please leave a comment, fav and/or a follow. They always motivate me so !~ **

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	3. Chapter 3: Pride and Consequences

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**Author's ramblings: Boy, did this chapter take a while to write. I think I edited this thing about 4 times and I've cut something like 6-7 pages of various moments. I felt it would be better to keep some family interactions a secret for now and show them later on.**

**Another thing I've realized is I haven't said much about this story. I will go back and put another Author's note in the first chapter. I know the summary is bad and honestly, I wasn't really sure where I'd go with this story when I first started writing it. I'm still not a 100% certain, but I can say now I have a much clearer picture for a lot of the events and characters. **

**In any case, this story will have a touch of everything in it. Suspense, Mystery, Romance, Drama, Family moments, some tears, lots of laughs (hopefully), and interesting plotlines (hopefully again). I will also be adding characters to the description as they appear and may even edit the description itself when I come up with something better. The future romantic interests are a bit tough. Naruto's is clearly planned, but I won't review it for a while. Itachi's is much tougher. Honestly, I have a hard time imagining him with anyone. I think as the story goes, someone will come up for him. I will say this though, some elements and events in the story will definitely catch you by surprise. Also, this is clearly AU.**

**Now, as for my other story, Fairy Tail's Orange Flash. I owe some of my fans an explanation, so here it is. It's actually pretty simple, some real life stuff happened and I slowly lost the motivation and the spark to write. The world of Fairy Tail did not inspire me either and honestly, I haven't been reading the manga since before I stopped writing. However, I am still keeping my old notes back and I am remembering some of the plot lines and events I had planned. I will go back to it and there will be some changes, but first I will establish this one a bit.**

**Anyway, enough rambling, here is chapter 3 of House of Two! Enjoy !~**

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Chapter 3: Pride and Consequences

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Minato let out another exasperated sigh as he looked at the list of graduates once again. It was two names in particular that were holding his attention - Itachi Uchiha and his son, Naruto Namikaze. Ages 7 and 8 respectively. He was not sure what to feel at the moment, so for now he just settled on working on his confusion.

Itachi was easy enough to understand. Minato could not help but feel a bit guilty about that particular situation. While the masked man that had attacked the village using the Demon Fox possessed the Sharingan, the Uchiha clan's famous bloodline, that did not mean that they had any part in it. In fact, it did not even mean that the man was an actual Uchiha. His student, Kakashi possessed the Sharingan due to certain circumstances while not actually belonging to the Uchiha clan.

That was irrelevant though. After the attack, while he was scrambling to get his wife and newborn daughter to the hospital, Sarutobi had warned the ninja forces to be careful of the Sharingan since the unknown attacker had used it. Neither Minato, nor Sarutobi had realized the implications at the time. By the next day rumours had spread around the entire village that the Uchiha clan were somehow responsible for the attack.

The Fourth had immediately made the information classified, requiring a certain rank and clearance. He had even made talking about it punishable by death. It was too little, too late.

Naturally, Fugaku had been outraged. He and his wife were not present during the attack since they were on a diplomatic mission. Not only that, but the Fox had destroyed a portion of the Uchiha clan compound and his two sons, Itachi and Sasuke, had been forced to run for their lives. It was something Fugaku had pointed out many times during the council meetings and while many of the other ninja clans had dropped their suspicions, the large majority of the forces had kept their inhibitions of the Uchiha.

And that is what Itachi was. A statement. A testament to the strength of the Uchiha clan. However, Minato was not sure it was the right kind of statement that should be sent out at the moment.

His real concern however, was his son. Born during the Third Shinobi War, like Itachi, Naruto had been exposed to the horrors of death at a very early age. To top it off, being the son of the Yellow Flash had brought quite a few assassination and kidnapping attempts on both the boy and his mother. By the time the war had ended, it had already left a significant impression on the then 5 year old boy. And that was putting it lightly.

The pranks, the acting out, the rebellious nature, they were all Naruto's ways of coping, Tsunade had explained. Minato was sure Kushina's genes played a big part in it as well. However, like any man, he had acquired a newfound self-preservation instinct that came with becoming a husband. Hence the reason he had not shared that particular opinion with his wife or anyone for that matter.

It was no surprise when Naruto had shown reluctance in taking his studies seriously when he had first been admitted into the Academy. The blond had instead opted to make it "interesting", according to his own words. At least until he had decided to do a complete reversal in his second year.

In the span of 7 months, Naruto had gone from not caring about the Academy and being a ninja to graduating. Minato had been happy to see his son become serious about his studies and even asking his father for help in learning some of the techniques. Until he had learned that Naruto was aiming to become a genin as quickly as possible.

It was because of the Fox, Minato was certain. That particular event had brought another significant change in Naruto. His son was still outgoing and a menace, but at the same time he had become more withdrawn, something that worried his father greatly. The Hokage had tried to convince his boy not to rush into graduating, to instead enjoy his Academy years since they were in times of relative peace. Naruto had kept quiet for a while, finally saying that he would think about it. From then on his son had stopped asking him for tips and Minato had figured the boy had listened to him.

"Well, at least he keeps being unpredictable.." Minato muttered to no one in particular, before reading the file once again. Both Naruto and Itachi had passed and excelled on their graduation exam. They had shown proficiency with all Academy techniques and on top of that they had performed an elemental technique each. It was expected of Itachi, the **Great Fireball** being a rite of passage for all Uchiha. His son on the other hand had pulled a wind style manipulation apparently out of thin air (Minato mentally patted himself for this particular play of words).

It was concerning that Naruto had suddenly learned how to use his affinity or even what his affinity was to begin with. The test for elemental affinity was not something that was available to Academy students (not since a certain white-haired would-be Sannin had decided to practice his fire element with less than ideal results all those many years ago). So the question was, who taught Naruto?

Who had a wind affinity in Konoha? The Third Hokage and his son, Asuma; Danzo Shimura and his daughter, Haruka; Orochimaru and his former student, Anko. Minato's eyes narrowed. He could rule out Asuma and Haruka since neither of them were actually in Konoha at the moment. Orochimaru had turned traitor before the Nine-tails' attack. Anko was in a coma. Danzo would not dare go near his son, at least unless he had some kind of a Will prepared beforehand. And the Third shared his opinion on early graduation in times of peace and if he had offered any advice to Naruto, he would have at least told Minato first.

So who did that leave? Minato drummed his fingers over his desk before a thought came to his mind. He knew who might have an idea.

"Hawk," Minato said and a second later an ANBU appeared in front of him. "Find Kakashi and tell him I need to speak with him immediately. He has the day off, so he's probably at the Memorial stone."

The ANBU immediately disappeared leaving Minato to his thoughts. After about two minutes he silently cursed before calling out another name.

"Monkey," he said, making another ANBU appear. "Follow Hawk and tell Kakashi I would really appreciate it if there are no black cats to cross his path this time."

The second ANBU disappeared without a word as well and sure enough five minutes later the office doors opened and his secretary told him his former student was here to see him.

"Send him in," said Minato.

"Hey Sensei, what do you need me for?" asked Kakashi after he entered the office.

"Have a seat," said Minato, handing him the folder with the list of graduates.

Kakashi skimmed through the folder before saying with a typical neutral tone, "Oh, I see Naruto graduated. Congratulations, Sensei."

Minato nodded slightly, "It certainly is a surprise. Especially considering I never taught him elemental manipulation."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow but Minato continued, "You've been his ANBU guard the most, have you noticed anything strange?"

"We are talking about your son, right Sensei? You have to be more specific than that," Kakashi said.

"You know who our wind users are," Minato said and Kakashi immediately understood why his Sensei was concerned.

"He's had no contact with any of them. Not even the Third," Kakashi said which surprised Minato a little, but he gave no indication as his former student continued, "All he's been doing is training with Itachi Uchiha after classes."

Minato hummed at that. At the beginning when he was helping Naruto he had figured the two boys had a rivalry going between them but now it seemed they were actually close friends. Considering both boys had been exposed to the harshness of the Third Shinobi war it did make sense that they would form some kind of strong bond.

"What about Lady Tsunade, have you asked her?" asked Kakashi.

"She can't tell me specifics of their sessions, only how he's doing. Besides, he hasn't gone to her in a while, last time he visited her, she told me he was practically over his trauma and had a new focus in life," Minato explained.

"Explains why he hasn't been up to his usual mischief lately. Not openly at least.." The last part was muttered but the Fourth Hokage had still managed to catch it and was looking at his student with a raised brow.

He shook his head before saying, "Well, it seems I'll have to ask Naruto himself. I just know I won't like what he'll tell me."

Kakashi could not help but swallow nervously, once again earning the attention of his former Sensei.

Suddenly, Minato realized there was something wrong with Kakashi. It was a thought that had buzzed in his mind the moment his student had come in the office, but the blond had been too focused on his son to pay attention.

"Kakashi.." Minato said slowly, "Where is your book?"

Suddenly Kakashi's eyes darted around the office looking at anything that wasn't Minato. After a tense few seconds he responded with a nervous voice, "It's uh.. disrespectful to read my books openly when in your presence, Lord Hokage."

Minato's mind immediately snapped onto Kakashi's demeanor. Sometimes his former student was just too easy.

"Reaaaaaally?" Minato drawled out. "I don't remember you having such inhibitions during the last general ANBU meeting. Or any ANBU meetings since you had started reading.. that particular piece of literature." Minato intentionally refrained from openly saying what he thought of reading said literature in public, however, his gaze remained sternly on Kakashi.

"I uh.. saw the errors of my ways?" Kakashi tried hopefully.

Their eyes remained locked for a bit, despite Kakashi's ever-present desire to look anywhere else but at his Sensei. After the cogs in Minato's mind had finished with their activity, the blond Hokage palmed his face and let out a groan.

"Why do I have the feeling this will be related to my son graduating early.."

"Well.. He may have asked for my advice on a few things.." Kakashi said.

"And you agreed. "

It wasn't a question really but Kakashi still nodded.

"Let me guess, he broke into your apartment, stole your books and then asked for help in exchange for their safe return."

Kakashi said nothing, so Minato continued "Why didn't you just take them back? It should have been easy enough."

"Because he doesn't have them. He gave them to Itachi for safe-keeping," explained Kakashi.

"Itachi." Minato's eyes kept boring into his former student. "As in the heir of the Uchiha clan and son of the Fugaku Uchiha, Itachi. He helped my son extort advice from my student, an ANBU captain, in exchange for books written by my teacher." While Minato was saying that, he noticed how Kakashi was slumping in his chair more and more with each uttered word. He could tell this was bringing a huge amount of embarrassment to his student and while he should probably be angry, the blond Hokage was barely keeping himself from bursting into a fit of laughter.

"Why didn't you just buy new ones? They're just books," Minato tried to compose himself.

"Just books!? They're first print, limited collector's edition with extra scenes. They were also autographed by the author with a personal message!" Kakashi tried to make his Sensei see reason. Unfortunately for him, the laughter that came from Minato hinted that he may not have succeeded.

When the Hokage had finally calmed down (or more accurately, when his lungs had started to hurt), Minato stood from his desk and went to the closest window, looking at the lights of the village that was in the warm embrace of the early evening.

"He played you good. He played both of us really. He managed to pass the graduation exams legitimately even if he did receive advice under questionable circumstances. Even if I wanted to annul his graduation, I'd have to reveal the truth and annul Itachi's graduation as well for his involvement. The last thing we need with the Uchiha clan."

Kakashi looked apprehensively at his Sensei's back. Even if it sounded like Minato was angry, he could still hear the pride in his voice. He was about to say something when the blond Hokage turned to him with amusement in his eyes.

"I should make you his Jounin teacher and make you do D-ranks for the next two years," Minato said. To his delight Kakashi gave him a look of absolute horror and shock.

"But Sensei, he probably would have found another way to do it even if I didn't help him. When an idea gets in his mind, he'll follow it stubbornly, just like Lady Kushina. At least this way I gave him proper training and advice for the life of a genin. For both of them."

Minato had felt a tightness when Kakashi had mentioned his wife but he just turned towards the window.

"You're right, I should have just trained him myself," Minato let out a sigh. "How much did you help them?"

"I tested them for their affinities and then helped them with elemental training. I gave them some tips on chakra control as well and I helped Naruto learn a wind technique," Kakashi explained.

"I didn't know you knew how to do wind techniques," Minato turned to his student.

"I don't," Kakashi shook his head and pointed at his left eye that was covered by his forehead protector, "but I've seen some and while I can't replicate them myself, I understood enough to know the hand signs and how to perform them properly."

Minato nodded in understanding before he asked, "Anything else I should know?"

Kakashi hesitated for a moment, "Well.. There was something strange about their affinities. Both of them have two."

"That's not so strange even if it is rare," Minato said.

"That's not it. Itachi has fire and water while Naruto has wind and lightning" Kakashi explained.

"What? An Uchiha with a water affinity?" Minato really was surprised at that. "As far as I know, Fugaku and Mikoto are both fire types. I think Mikoto may even have a minor lightning affinity. And Naruto? Wind and lightning, are you sure?"

Kakashi just nodded, which made Minato go back and sit at his desk.

"Wind is the same as mine, but Kushina is water." Minato looked at his former student again, "You didn't mix their papers, did you?"

"No, I checked three times, Sensei," Kakashi said.

Minato looked at his desk. Great, another mystery, just what they needed. It did not seem like a big deal, but his instinct was telling him something was not right in this situation. He made a note to ask Tsunade and have her look into it.

Another thought came to Minato, "Why didn't you teach Naruto lightning element?"

"He said wind would complement Itachi's fire techniques," said Kakashi.

"Hmm.. I'm guessing they want to be on the same team?" Minato asked.

"Weeeell.. I don't think it would be a bad idea," Kakashi said. "I know early graduates are put with older genin to balance the team out, but those two have been working together for months. And I have been helping them as well. I think their teamwork is good enough to account for their age and lack of experience."

"Really now?" Minato's doubtful voice was not betraying his thoughts, however. He could see a big opportunity here. The Hokage's son on the same genin team with the Uchiha's future heir. This is how strong bonds were forged. It was a long-term strategy, however all Minato would need to do was make sure the situation did not escalate until it was time for Naruto and Itachi to take their respective mantles.

"That is interesting," Minato said aloud, "I guess you wouldn't mind being their teacher since you know so much about them already." The blond Hokage did his best not to show his amusement at Kakashi's reaction.

"I.. I-I assure you, Lord Hokage, while it would be no greater honour for me to be their teacher, I.. uhm.." Kakashi swallowed, trying to think of a fast one, "I don't think I would be suited as a teacher." He mentally cursed. As far as fast ones went, this was one of his worst.

"Oh? But you have already taught the boys for the past few months, have you not?" Minato was openly smiling.

"Well.. Yeah, but.."

"And they did manage to both graduate successfully thanks to your tutelage, isn't that right?" The Hokage kept going mercilessly.

"That's right, but you see.."

"Seems like they've had a good influence on you too, considering you haven't read those books in a while," Minato mused, making Kakashi sweat even more. "I think you've done well, passing the things I taught you when you were my genin. It would be a good chance to show me how much you've grown by teaching my own son."

Kakashi swallowed again, not being able to think of anything. This was it, he knew it. Sensei had cornered him and there was no escape. He would have to deal with those little devils whether he liked it or not. He had to admit it was fun teaching them, but that would mean not being an ANBU captain anymore. It was pointless though, and Kakashi knew it.

"Yes, Sensei," he said, finally accepting his fate, "it would be an honour."

"Indeed," said Minato, "it's a real shame you won't be their teacher."

"What." Kakashi said after a brief moment of silence.

"I already agreed to Fugaku's request on who to be jounin instructor for his son's team. And if Itachi and Naruto are on the same team, well.." Minato did not finish, keeping his eyes on Kakashi. It was one of the Hokage's hidden pleasures to mentally torment his student. Kakashi was stoic, apathetic and at many times acted emotionally detached. Breaking all those mental defences the silver-haired young man tried to surround himself with was always incredibly delightful.

Kakashi on the other hand could not believe he fell for one of his Sensei's tricks again. And it seemed it was not over either, since Minato continued, "But don't worry, since you are so eager, I'll let you be my daughter's teacher when the time comes."

"Thank you, Sensei," Kakashi said numbly, his brain still not recovered from the earlier round.

"You might still get the chance though, since their teamwork will be tested. If it's not as good as you've said, you'll have the opportunity to teach it to Naruto properly again," Minato's smile did not falter, however his eyes got a very promising glint.

"Yes, Sensei," was all Kakashi dared to say, in fear he would get himself in even deeper.

"Good. Now I know it's your day off, so please, don't let me keep you," Minato waved his former student off and opened the folder with the graduates. It was time to properly assign the teams. Kakashi simply stood and muttering a good bye, went to the door. Before he could leave, he heard Minato's voice, "You also have permission to go to training ground two in 3 days to observe the test if you'd like."

Nodding, Kakashi closed the door after himself.

**!~¡**

The newly formed Team 2 sat at a bench outside of the Academy and looked at their tall jounin instructor. He had short, unkempt black hair looking as if each strand had a mind of its own on where exactly it should be growing. He wore a black forehead protector with the Konoha symbol on it. He also wore the standard Leaf uniform of blue long-sleeved shirt and blue cargo trousers with a sleeveless green flak-jacket on top. He had a kunai holster on his right leg and a weapons pouch on his hip. The only thing that marred the standartness was the tanto strapped to his back, poking from his right side. His most prominent features were his onyx eyes, the same as Itachi's, as well as a rather large nose.

He had a serious look in his eyes while he scrutinized the three boys sitting in front of him. After a minute of the continued silence, he finally nodded to himself, before clapping his hands.

"Right! It looks like I have an interesting bunch of brats as my students. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

Itachi already knew who the man in front of them was, however Naruto did not, so he asked in return, "Why don't you start, Sensei? Isn't it polite to give your name first before asking others for theirs?"

The jounin's face became serious again as he focused on Naruto before his arm shot suddenly and poked the blond in the ribs, eliciting a loud yelp.

"Cheeky brat, talking to your superior about manners! You of all are a hundred years too early to preach something like that, my cute little menace!" The man laughed heartily at the glare Naruto was sending him while the blond was rubbing his side. "Fine, fine, I guess teaching starts right away. Lesson 1: Proper Introductions!"

"My name is Shisui Uchiha, also known as Master of the Body Flicker, age 19, blood type B, and recently promoted to the full rank of jounin. You brats have the honour of being my first genin students, so make sure you thank the Gods every morning for the fortune bestowed upon you." Shisui laughed before he continued, "Don't feel flattered, I did not handpick you or anything. In fact, the only reason I agreed to this is because I lost a bet."

Shisui smirked at their expressions, before continuing, "Let's see now. I like having friendly competitions and poking fun at my friends. I don't like people that are too serious. I think everyone should try to lighten up and cultivate a nice healthy sense of humour. My type of women are black-haired with this kind of shape," he moved his hands to show the boys, who couldn't help but gape at him, "but the most important part is she has to challenge me. My dream for the future is to become the fastest man alive by knocking over the Hokage from his seat and snatching that nice hat of his!"

"What?! You want to defeat my father?!" Naruto shouted.

"That's right! Got a problem with that, brat?" Shisui merely grinned at the blond. To his surprise, said blond had a matching grin with a slightly wicked look in his eyes.

"Want help?" Naruto asked.

Shisui did not bother hiding his surprise and just blinked at the boy. Finally he laughed, "Ohoho, I think you and I are going to see eye to eye. Your turn then, let's hear it!"

"My name is Naruto Namikaze, the infamous and dashing Orange Menace," he struck a little pose as he said that. He was wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a burnt-orange jacket with a mesh shirt underneath. "My age is 8, but my birthday is soon. My blood type is also B. I like planning and pulling pranks, eating different types of ramen and I love my little sister. I don't like people that are trying to be difficult. I think most girls are gross so I can't say I have a type."

"I guess you're still a little kid, so that's to be expected. Don't worry, maybe in a couple of years.. or decades," Shisui snickered.

"Hey! I'm not little, I'm almost 9!" Naruto said, jumping on top of the bench. Unfortunately for him, even the added height was not enough and Shisui merely put his hand on top of the blond and shoved him back into a sitting position.

"If you say so, squirt," Shisui ignored Naruto's protests and looked at Itachi. "You next!"

Itachi was wearing black cargo pants as well with the typical black high-collar t-shirt of the Uchiha clan. "My name is Itachi Uchiha. I'm 7, soon to be 8. My blood type is AB. I like training and my clan. I don't like.." Itachi paused for a moment, but then he continued with a quieter voice "There isn't anything I dislike. I like girls that are quiet and know how to respect personal space." At this point Naruto had to turn away to hide his snickering. The Itachi Uchiha fan club was still one of his proudest accomplishments.

"All right," Shisui nodded. At least this one had a type. He turned to the third boy, "Last, but not least," he grinned.

Everyone focused on the final member of Team 2. It was a boy wearing blue cargo pants and a beige jacket, unzipped to show a black shirt underneath. He had shoulder length straight silver hair and green eyes. Unlike the rest of Team 2, he wore his forehead protector like a bandana. The boy tensed when everyone focused on him and Shisui got the impression he was trying to keep his face from frowning.

"Mizuki Maki, age 12, blood type AB," the now identified Mizuki said. The other three kept looking at him, waiting for more, until Shisui realized that was apparently it.

"Okay, I guess that's it for introductions. Now onto the real deal." When all three genin focused on him again, he continued, "We'll meet at training ground 2 for your test in.. let's say 30 minutes."

"Test? What test?" Naruto asked.

"Oh don't worry about it, it's just the test that determines whether you can remain a genin or get sent back to the Academy." Shisui did his best to keep his voice level and impassive, even if his lips were slightly curved in a smile, "I'm sure you were told about it."

"What?!" Naruto shouted, "No one said anything about another test! Didn't we pass the Academy exam already?"

"Oh, anyone can pass that thing, "Shisui said dismissively. "It's just to see who has the basic requirements to become a genin. The real test is held by your jounin teacher, which is me, to determine whether you brats are ready for the real deal." Shisui looked at each of his genin. They did not look happy at the new information.

"Basically, I decide whether you graduate or are held back another year. So any questions?" Before anyone could say anything, he continued, "Good, see you at training ground 2," and Shisui started fading away before he disappeared completely.

Naruto was the first to break the silence with a groan, "Great, no one said anything about another test. I shouldn't have given Kakashi his books back."

"To be fair, you never asked him," Itachi said as he stood up. He was not particularly happy about the secondary test, but there was nothing to do but pass it now. He did not even want to imagine the world where he failed it.

Naruto grumbled as he stood up as well. He turned to the third member of Team 2 only to see the boy already walking away from them.

"Hey, Mizuki, wait up! We should talk about what to do for the test," Naruto said.

"Like that's going to make a difference," Mizuki snorted, before he started jumping away.

"Sheesh, what's his problem?" Naruto asked as he and Itachi took off as well.

"I don't think he likes us. Maybe he thinks we'll be useless because of our age," Itachi said.

"What?! But I'm only three years younger than him. I guess it's because of you, after all you are four whole years apart," Naruto smirked.

Despite the discipline that had been schooled in Itachi to keep his emotions in check, he could not help but feel a bit annoyed.

"So, you know Shisui?" Naruto changed the topic.

"Yeah, he's my cousin. He's pretty famous in our clan. He's also one of the fastest shinobi in Konoha because of his mastery of the Body Flicker technique. I've heard he can even rival your father in speed."

Naruto whistled. There weren't many ninja who could make a claim like that. The Body Flicker technique or Shunshin no jutsu, is a high-speed movement technique that allowed ninja to travel distances at an incredible speed.

"Wait, so that's what he used to disappear?" Naruto asked.

"That's right. From what I've heard, he's perfected it to such a level where he doesn't need an extra element to disguise his movement. Apparently, he's so fast that he leaves an after-image that simply fades away," Itachi explained.

"That's so cool! Why haven't you told me you had a cool cousin like that?" Naruto asked.

"He's away on missions a lot," said Itachi.

"We have to ask him to teach us that!"

"I think we have to focus on passing his test before that."

"Ugh, yeah, that," Naruto grumbled. "Hmm.. I wonder what it's going to be?"

"Maybe some team exercise where he evaluates our skills? I doubt he'll ask us to fight him, he's a full-fledged jounin," said Itachi.

"Maybe that's what he'll want to do actually. Since he's a jounin, he's probably thinking we can't do anything to hurt him," said Naruto.

"Either way, we should think of some strategies. If he uses the Sharingan it will be much harder, whatever he asks us to do."

The two boys kept talking until they reached training ground 2, where Mizuki was already waiting for them. The training grounds themselves were not anything special. Just a large grass clearing that was by the forest. There were some large wood logs near the boys and in the distance, targets could be seen near the trees.

Not even a minute had passed and Shisui appeared in front of them out of nowhere.

"Good, you're all on time. I don't like people who are late," the jounin said as he looked at the boys. He was about to continue when he felt a familiar presence in the woods. He suppressed the urge to openly look in that direction and instead spoke again, "Normally, each jounin has a test of their own to see if his genin are up to his standards. However, I was told to give you three a specific test and after I heard what it was, I have to say I quite like it actually."

Shisui reached for his pocket and took out two bells hanging on two strings, while his eyes flickered casually towards where the presence was. It felt like Kakashi and the jounin wondered why he was there. Was it part of Naruto's ANBU detail? Or did the Hokage want someone to observe the test on his behalf. Either way it felt strange and he would ask the gray-haired boy later.

"This is the bell test. Your objective is to take these bells from me," Shisui started explaining as he pinned the two bells to his belt. "You have until sunset, whoever gets a bell, passes. Whoever doesn't.. Well, they get a trip back to the Academy."

"Um, Sensei, there are only two bells and there's three of us. Did you forget one?" asked Naruto.

"Haha, you wish! There are only two bells on my belt because only two of you can pass. Of course, that's assuming any of you even comes close to touching one. I'm pretty sure all three of you shrimps are going to fail!" Shisui laughed making the genin glare at him. Naruto took out a kunai and immediately charged at the jounin with the intent of inflicting pain.

However, Shisui simply started fading away and before Naruto could register anything, he felt the arm holding his kunai being twisted until the blade was pointing at the back of his head.

"Hey now, I haven't even said st.." Shisui wasn't able to finish as he was forced to duck from another swipe of a kunai, this time coming from Itachi, aiming at his left eye. He was also forced to let Naruto go in the process and the two boys jumped on the offensive immediately, stabbing and slashing at their instructor.

The jounin was slightly impressed at the two genin, even if their attacks seemed clumsy. At least they were eager. He waited for them to attack him once more before he started flashing in front of their eyes. A second later the boys found themselves on top of each other, with Shisui's foot pinning them to the ground.

"That's good, at least you were coming at me with the intent to kill. Anything less and you won't even sniff a bell," Shisui chuckled darkly and continued, "Since you're so eager to fail, I guess I should oblige. Begin!" He hadn't even finished and there were two puffs of smoke under his foot. After it cleared Shisui noted the two boys were replaced by a pair of logs. The Substitution technique in all its usefulness.

He felt a movement behind and turned around to see Mizuki had disappeared from the clearing as well. Good, it seemed all three of his students knew how to hide properly. He almost choked on that thought when he was forced to dodge a couple of shuriken.

"Shouldn't you be hiding and waiting for the right moment to attack?" Shisui asked Naruto.

"If all of us are hiding, there won't be such a moment. Besides, we should be attacking you," said Naruto. "You better use the Sharingan, I won't be holding back!" the blond threatened.

"The Sharingan, against a brat like you? You're a thousand years too early, it'd only be a waste of chakra," laughed Shisui, making Naruto glare even more.

"I'll make you use it then!" the blond screamed and charged at the jounin.

Shisui was disappointed. This was the Hokage's son? His form was sloppy, his attacks were wide and while they had some power behind them, this was still an eight year old, catching them was not a big deal. The boy was not even trying to get the bells. Well, Shisui supposed he could see how long Naruto's stamina could keep this up for.

Similar thoughts were going through Mizuki's mind until he heard a rustle next to him. He turned startled only to see Itachi there.

"Hey, it's just me," whispered Itachi. That did not do much for Mizuki, who was still tense.

"What do you want?" Mizuki asked annoyed.

"How about we work together?" Itachi asked. "Naruto's distracting Sensei right now so we can talk and make a plan."

"Oh? And what happens when we get the bells? Did you forget only two of us can pass?" asked Mizuki.

"We can figure that one out after we get them. You saw Shisui, he's a jounin. That will be the hardest part, even if all three of us are fighting together," Itachi explained.

"Yeah, I don't think working with you two would be any help. I'd rather do things myself," Mizuki said and looked back at the fight.

Itachi was silent for a moment before the rustling could be heard again. When Mizuki turned, he saw he was alone.

Shisui dodged another kick, but this time grabbed the offending limb. Twisting around he threw Naruto several meters away without much difficulty. The blond landed into a heap and let out a groan.

"You'll have to do much much better. Forget the Sharingan, at the rate you're going I can just fight with eyes closed," Shisui's laugh was cut short when he had to duck his head from an incoming kunai. This one did not come from Naruto though.

"Seems like you enjoy interrupting me," said Shisui.

"I let you finish this time, Sensei," Itachi said as he stood next to Naruto. The blond looked at him and whispered, "Any luck?" Itachi shook his head and Naruto sighed, "I guess we go with the initial plan."

"So both of you are going to come at me this time? Not that it will make much of a difference," Shisui smirked. His response was the two boys disappearing to be replaced by logs. The same logs they had used for the first substitution, that were supposed to be behind him. Cursing mentally, Shisui barely managed to avoid getting stabbed in the back. Both boys pressed on with their attack, but this time it was different.

For one, Itachi had his Sharingan active. His eyes were blazing red, with three black comas in a circular pattern in each one. Even Shisui was impressed. Not everyone from the Uchiha clan could even activate their famous doujutsu (eye technique) and even if it did happen, it was usually after the age of 10. And here Itachi had a fully matured Sharingan at barely the age of 8.

Because of that, this time their attack was going much better. The Sharingan had two main abilities - the Eye of Insight and the Eye of Hypnotism. The Eye of Insight gave the user the ability to track fast-paced movements and to a degree, predict what the opponent was about to do.

Itachi's eyes were not the only thing that was making a big difference. Naruto's attacks had become compact and precise, as if the earlier fights had been with a different person. He had almost no holes in his form and whatever was left was being covered by Itachi. It was annoying to fight them now. Even if both of them were in close-combat range, Naruto was the one focusing on attacks and Itachi using his Sharingan predicted Shisui's counter-attacks and moved accordingly. Slowly, the desire to use his own blood-line started creeping into Shisui.

"What's the matter Sensei, thinking of using your Sharingan finally?" Naruto taunted, as if reading the jounin's thoughts.

Shisui scoffed and decided to up the ante. He started moving at a speed even Itachi could not follow and for a moment it seemed like the boys were fighting two Shisui's at the same time. They barely managed to use the Substitution technique again before they took too much of a beating.

"You're still a thousand years too early," Shisui sneered and looked at the two boys. Once again they had replaced themselves with the same logs, which were now at his feet, to gain some distance.

"Naruto.." Itachi said.

"Let's do it!" Naruto shouted and both boys started making hand-signs.

So it was time for ninjutsu now. Shisui could just move to them and interrupt the techniques, but then again this was a test. He realized Itachi was doing the hand-signs for a fire technique and remembered reading from their file that Naruto was a wind type. A collaboration.

Shisui flashed through hand-signs of his own at a much greater speed so the three of them finished at the same time.

**"Fire Release: Great Fireball"** came from Itachi.

**"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" **called Naruto.

Shisui countered with his own **Great Fireball**, ramping up the power to match their collaboration. To his surprise and confusion, his technique easily overpowered theirs. Even if they were just genin, their collaboration should have been strong enough to match up. That's when he felt a familiar prickle in his mind. He was under a genjutsu (illusionary technique). Itachi must have used his Eye of Hypnotism. Ending the **Great Fireball **technique, Shisui immediately dispelled the genjutsu. The moment he did that he had to twist his body and dodge an attacking from behind Naruto. But this time the blond was not aiming at him with his kunai, he was aiming at the strings the bells were hanging from.

Shisui barely managed to avoid the blade cutting the strings. Or so he thought, even though the kunai came mere centimeters from cutting the strings, the bells still fell to the ground. Both Shisui and Naruto scrambled to grab them, when the jounin heard Itachi's call.

**"Fire Release: Flame Flower"**

He saw three small fireballs coming at him and Naruto. He had to act quick or risk losing. Using his fastest Body Flicker, Shisui barely managed to grab the bells and jump away. At the last second he saw Naruto grab something. He was in the line of fire as well, but Shisui figured the blond would use a substitution. To his shock, he heard Naruto screaming and saw the blond scrambling to take his burning jacket off.

"Shit! Naruto, are you okay?!" Shisui shouted and Body Flickered next to Naruto. "Why the hell didn't you use a substitution?! Itachi, that was dangerous, you could've killed Naruto!"

"I'm okay, Sensei, I managed to get the jacket off quick," Naruto said as he was breathing harshly.

"And I used as little chakra as I could for the technique, Sensei," Itachi said after he ran to them.

"That was still too dangerous! Why didn't you evade, Naruto?"

"I had to get the bells, Sensei," Naruto smiled and opened his hand to show a pair of bells.

Shisui's eyes widened and he opened his own hand to see a pair of pebbles in it.

"What.." the jounin was confused. "How the hell?"

"Genjutsu," Itachi explained. "After you ended the **Great Fireball** and were distracted by Naruto, I used a genjutsu to disguise the bells into pebbles and vice versa. Then I used the **Flame Flower**."

"But I didn't look at your eyes.. You used a regular genjutsu?" Shisui asked and Itachi simply smiled. "And how did you cut the bell strings, Naruto?"

"I used my wind chakra to extend the blade of my kunai, Sensei," the blond grinned at him.

Shisui nodded and went through the whole fight in his mind. When they backed off to do the collaboration, Itachi cast the genjutsu on him and Naruto replaced himself with the log to close the distance again. Itachi still performed the **Great Fireball**, but that was just a distraction. Their plan was brilliant, but if he had used his Sharingan, then Shisui would have seen through it. In all honesty, if Naruto had not taunted him like he had, he probably would have used his doujutsu. The realization made him look at the blond again.

"Wait, so what you said about making me use the Sharingan was on purpose?" Shisui asked.

"That's the only way I figured you wouldn't use it, Sensei. If we taunted you, but fought sloppily, I thought you'd think we weren't even worth it," the blond's grin grew even larger. "Then we fought seriously and even then you didn't use your Sharingan. That's when we knew we should use the genjutsu."

So even their initial fighting was part of the plan. Shisui realized he had underestimated them greatly. He had thought it was all some childish smack talk and he had reacted exactly how they thought he would. Is this what the Hokage wanted to show him when he assigned him a team? That he was getting cocky? That even a ninja as good as him could fall prey to some fresh graduates if he did not take the fight seriously.

But these were not just some fresh graduates. These were the Hokage's son and the Uchiha prodigy, two boys that have graduated and become genin much earlier than expected. Of course they would have received some extra training from their fathers, hell the **Great Fireball** was basically a rite of passage in the Uchiha clan. Shisui felt his smile spread. He felt giddy and excited. Here he had two incredibly interesting children, no, genin he corrected, and both Minato and Fugaku had trusted him to teach their sons. Not to mention the fight had been incredibly fun!

"So what now, Sensei?" Naruto asked. "Did we pass?"

Shisui could not help but let out a laugh. He was about to say yes when he saw the approaching Mizuki. The boy had a huge frown on his face and instead Shisui just settled for humming.

"So, I guess I failed the test," Mizuka asked, his frown deepening.

"We did offer you to work together. It would've been easier to get the bells then," said Naruto.

"I don't need or want to work with brats like you! I could have gotten the bells myself!" Mizuki snarled.

"Really, against a jounin?" Naruto shot back.

"He must not be that good if a 7 and an 8 year old were able to get the bells!" said Mizuki.

Shisui calmed himself quickly and said, "The purpose of the test wasn't to see if you could get the bells. It was to see if you could all work together as a team for a common objective," he explained.

"But there are only two bells. That means someone would have to sacrifice themselves?" Itachi asked.

"That's right. You're ninja now. It's a life filled with danger and sometimes completing a mission might cost you your life. But you can't just give up and fail your village. Not completing the mission because you've tried to save your own hide might cause the destruction of your home and everything you care for," Shisui explained. "It was a test to see if you could get over your personal differences and work together as a team to accomplish your mission. Even if it meant one of you dying."

The three genin were silent and Shisui let out a sigh. "While you did complete the objective, I'm not sure if you technically passed as a team."

Silence reigned again until it was broken by Itachi, "You can still test us for that." He grabbed the two bells from Naruto and offered them to Shisui, "here, take them and we'll try to get them back again. The three of us this time. We still have plenty of time until sunset."

"That's right, Sensei!" Naruto said excitedly. "Just give us the test again, we'll still win easily!"

Shisui smiled as he grabbed the bells. It was not going to be that easy this time. Both boys had used a lot of their chakra, not to mention Naruto was hurt from the fire technique, even if it was a low-powered one. Yet it was good to see they were ready to go that far for their teammate.

When he looked at Mizuki though, his smile vanished. If anything, the boy's frown had deepened even further. Shisui wondered why was he so opposed to working with them? Was it because they were younger than him? Or was it because even if they were younger, they still managed to get the bells from a jounin, admittedly one that had underestimated them? What was the reason behind the boy's hostility?

"I refuse to work together with a traitorous Uchiha," Mizuki spat, shocking both Naruto and Itachi. He then glared at Shisui and continued, "or to have one as my instructor!"

Oh. So that was why. Like Naruto and Itachi, Shisui was also speechless at Mizuki's outburst. He was not sure what to do with this situation. The silver-haired boy glared at him for another moment and then turned around and started walking away.

"Shisui-sensei, what did he mean?" Naruto's question snapped the jounin out of his thoughts.

"Nothing Naruto, it's.." Shisui swallowed hard, "it's nothing. Let me take you to the hospital for a quick check-up, then I'll get Mizuki and speak with the Hokage. Don't worry you two, you've done a brilliant job today. I'll do my best to make sure you both pass," he smiled at the two boys and they returned it weakly. Then the tree heard someone land next to them.

"Yo," said Kakashi. "I can take Naruto to the hospital. You can take Mizuki to the Hokage, Shisui-sensei."

"So you have been watching after all, Kakashi," said Shisui as he looked at the new arrival. "All right, after he gets checked up, come to the Hokage tower. I'll see you there." With that Shisui faded before their eyes and appeared next to Mizuki. It appeared the jounin said something before both of them faded away.

"All right, let's go you two," Kakashi said and picked up Naruto.

"Hey, I can walk on my own! And I don't need to go to the hospital," the blond protested.

"Your arm is red Naruto," Itachi said and brushed it, making his friend yelp. "We should at least get a doctor to see you."

"Fine," Naruto grumbled and Kakashi smiled at him. At least they thought he did. He was not wearing his usual ANBU mask, instead he had a face mask that covered his mouth and nose. He had his forehead protector on and it was also covering his left eye. So the only portion of his face they could see was his right eye, but from the way it curved, they figured he was smiling.

**!~¡**

Naruto, Itachi and Kakashi reached the Hokage tower and started climbing the stairs towards the Hokage's office. As luck would have it (or lack of luck), Tsunade had been at the hospital and she had seen Naruto getting carried in. After she heard the story of how he got injured, he had smacked both Naruto and Itachi behind the head for being reckless and then went on to check the blond. She then treated him with some medical technique, put some ointment on his arm and bandaged it and finally told him not to do any physical exercises for the next two days. When Naruto protested, she had smacked him again and increased the period to three days. The blond had smartly shut his mouth.

The trio reached the Hokage's office and saw his secretary sitting behind a desk near the doors. She was a petite woman wearing the Konoha standart chunin uniform. She looked to be around the age of 25 with chocolate brown hair and amber eyes. She looked up at them over her glasses and smiled.

"The Hokage is in a meeting, but he's been expecting you. Take a seat and he'll see you when he's finished." The three nodded and sat down on three chairs, after which Naruto and Itachi started talking to Kakashi about the bell test. Just when they finished the story, the doors to the office opened and the trio saw Mizuki leave. He did not even spare them a glance and simply started going down the stairs, but all three noted he was not wearing his Konoha forehead protector.

"Kohaku, please send the others in!" they all heard coming from the office and the secretary stood up. With a smile, she led them inside where they saw the Hokage sitting behind his desk with Shisui standing in front of him.

"We received a message from one of our outposts earlier," the secretary said and brought a scroll to the Hokage's desk. "You also need to sign this patrol schedule for the next week," she gave Minato a list, which was immediately looked over and signed. "Would you like me to bring some tea, Lord Hokage?" the secretary asked.

"No, that would be all, Kohaku. Take the rest of the day off, thank you for the hard work today," said Minato.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Kohaku bowed and exited the room, closing the doors behind her. Kakashi, Naruto and Itachi stood in front of the desk, next to Shisui. The Hokage grabbed the scroll that was brought in, opened it and started reading. Silence reigned in, until it was broken by Minato.

"How's your arm, Naruto?" the Hokage asked. Despite the question, he had not lifted his head, but just kept reading whatever was written on the scroll.

"It's okay, Aunty Tsunade checked it and she put some ointment on it," said Naruto.

"Mhm, did she say anything?" asked Minato, looking up briefly at his son.

"She uh.. She said no training for two days," Naruto said sheepishly.

"Two?"

"M-maybe three," Naruto corrected.

"Mhmmm.." Minato said and kept reading the scroll.

After what seemed an eternity (or two minutes, but time always seemed to pass extremely slowly when in the office of your boss/superior/father), the Hokage rolled the scroll back and put it on his desk. He looked at the four ninja in front of him, his eyes moving from one face to another.

"So, Team 2.." he said, "it seems we're in quite the predicament. Mizuki has been sent back to the Academy. And there are no other genin at the moment to take his spot."

"Why do we need another genin for our team?" asked Naruto.

"Because Konoha squads usually have four people in them. And that's especially the case for a newly formed genin squad. Three genin and a jounin teacher," Minato explained.

"So what will happen with us?" asked Itachi.

Minato was silent for a bit and drummed his fingers on his desk. "Well, you've managed to complete the bell test," Minato said finally. "Even if you didn't exactly know the real purpose of the test, the two of you still managed to work together and get both bells. Shisui seems to be impressed by you two and has recommended that you continue as genin." (Minato did not mention anything about using a glass orb to watch their test. It was an item of great value, invented by Jiraiya of the Sannin, at the age of 15. The purpose behind it was "for research" and later on it was confiscated by the Third Hokage as a tool that "keeps protective watch" over the people of the Village Hidden in Leaves; Minato had inherited the item with the post but had opted not to use it exactly the same way as his predecessors for reasons unknown, but suspiciously habanero-flavoured.)

Both boys smiled and looked at Shisui, who kept his gaze straight ahead and tried to do his best to remain emotionless.

"There have been cases like this in the past," Minato continued, "however there will be a few rules. First of all, Shisui, Naruto, and Itachi, you will be the members of Team 2. Until the time when there is a third genin in your team, you two," he pointed at the two genin," will have to pick up for your missing third member and will be trained accordingly by Shisui. You will be doing only D-ranked missions, until a time comes when Shisui deems you prepared enough to go on a C-rank. And even then, you will be accompanied by Kakashi."

Normally, Naruto would have protested, but this time he had opted for the sane approach and kept his mouth shut. Minato smiled slightly at that and continued.

"Of course if you have a fourth member by then, things will be smoother. Oh and you will also need a fourth member to attend the Chuunin exams. Now, onto your punishment."

"Punishment?" Naruto asked confused. He and Itachi looked at Shisui, but saw he was surprised as well.

"That's right, related to the way you convinced Kakashi to help train you," Minato smiled. None of the ninja in the room liked the glint in his eyes.

"Kakashi will be accompanying you on C-rank missions, as I've already mentioned. As for you two, the first 30 D-rank missions you complete will be without pay," said Minato.

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage," said Shisui, "What is this about? Kakashi trained them?"

"That's right. You can find out the details from them if they choose to tell you and you make sure to keep it a secret. We wouldn't want a story like that to spread around too much," Minato said.

"All right.." Shisui said cautiously.

"Wait, please don't punish Itachi for this. I only asked him to keep the books safe," Naruto pleaded.

"But he agreed and he knew what you were doing, right?" The silence was an answer enough. "Besides," Minato went on, "he received help from Kakashi as well. Naruto, you have to realize that your decisions and actions have consequences. Both for you and those around you, especially if they assist you." His son was silent for a moment, but nodded in the end.

"I hope you two have learned a valuable lesson from this," the Hokage said.

"Don't blackmail or extort your allies?" Itachi said.

"And if you do, make sure you don't get caught," Naruto finished with a grin.

Minato shook his head and was about to say something, but then thought against it. They were ninjas after all. What Naruto and Itachi did was something ninja did on a daily basis. Not getting caught was an important aspect as well.

"All right, Shisui will talk to you about team meetings and training schedule. I expect to see you in four days for your first mission assignments. Dismissed!" The four ninja in front of him bowed and moved towards the doors.

"Naruto," the Hokage called, "stay here for a moment."

The blond stopped and looked at his friend and new teacher. Shisui shrugged and whispered they'd be waiting for him outside the tower and Itachi gave him a nod before they went out of the office. He did not miss the wave from Kakashi as well.

Naruto turned around and looked at his father. The Hokage had fixed him with his gaze, which made the blond boy look to the floor. There was still this awkward feeling present between him and his father. It had started to disappear when Minato had helped him with his weapon training and learning the Academy techniques. But then it appeared again after his father had told him not to graduate early. Naruto was not sure of the extend of it, but he knew it had all started with his sister becoming a jinchuuriki.

He heard his father open a drawer in his desk and close it. Then he heard him stand up but did not lift his gaze, even when he heard the steps approaching and even when he saw his father's legs in front of him. To his surprise however, the Hokage knelt and looked straight into his eyes.

"Naruto," Minato said, "Give me your forehead protector."

The blond boy was confused and a small amount of fear started creeping in his heart. Did his father reconsider? Was he going to make him go back to the Academy? With his arms shaking he untied the cloth and presented it to his father. Minato grabbed it and threw it to one of the chairs in the room. Then he moved his other hand from behind his back to show he was holding a small box.

"This is for you," he said and gave it to Naruto. "It was something I prepared for you a while ago for when you graduated. I did not expect it to be this soon, but it seems you've made up your mind."

Naruto opened the box and let out a gasp. It contained a Leaf forehead protector, but this one was not like the standard issued ones. The cloth was orange, his favourite colour. Minato picked it up, tied it to his son's forehead, and said.

"I want you to know, despite the punishment, I am really proud of you." His father said and just kept looking straight at him, with a small smile on his face.

Naruto was not sure what to do or say. There was a feeling in him that spurred his arms to drop the box, lift up and grab his father's neck in a hug. He felt Minato's arms go around his back and his father returning it.

**!~¡**

**Author's ramblings: D'awww, so sweet, a father-son moment. I wonder if there will be more in the future.. Probably not. ]=D**

**That's it for chapter 3. Next in chapter 4, we will see who their new teammate will be and what the future might hold for Team 2. I wonder if you folks will be able to guess.**

**Thanks for reading everybody! Until next time !~**

**!~¡**


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